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Vancouver chef Rob Feenie cooks at various levels of gastronomy, from fancy to homestyle. Casual Classics, his fourth book, is subtitled Everyday Recipes for Family and Friends (Douglas & McIntyre, $29.95). An experienced TV chef, Feenie is currently executive chef for Cactus Club Café, which offers casual fine dining. He has long cooked in a style that blends classic French with Asian flavours, which is reflected in this attractive, user-friendly book. Its recipe photographs are interspersed with shots of the chef with his wife and three young children. Feenie says other chefs inspired some of the recipes, and lists such culinary stars as the Alsatian chef Emile Jung and the late Spanish chef Santi Santamaria. Feenie and I once dined at the latter’s restaurant outside Barcelona when on a Spanish food-appreciation trip. This book is an appealing collection of easy, lively recipes.

1 cup quinoa, washed, drained

1-1/2 cups water

3/4 pound fresh green beans, in 1-inch pieces

1/2 pound ripe Roma tomatoes (3 or 4)

1 bell pepper, any colour, in 1-inch square pieces

2 tablespoons capers, rinsed

4 green onions, in 1/2-inch slices

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons toasted pecans

Combine quinoa and water in a medium pot and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until all liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil on high heat, add beans and cook for four to five minutes, until barely tender. Remove from heat and drain beans in a colander.

Place colander of beans in the ice water to stop the beans cooking further and preserve their colour. Cut tomatoes in halves and gently squeeze out and discard seeds. Then cut tomatoes in 1/2-inch cubes. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, capers, green onions and basil.

Season with salt, oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with pecans. Salad will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to two days.

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